Calusa Fish Net

A fish net was the tool of choice for catching large quantities of fish in open water – bays, lakes, ponds and large streams. Floating gourds marked the net’s location, shells kept the net on the bottom, and stone weights clustered on the poles kept the net down.

The Calusa net is based on archaeological net remains from the Key Marco site in south Florida. This net consists of stick float pegs, ark shell net weights, drilled limestone anchor weights and gourd net marker floats, just like the original net.